


a silver shine that stretches to the sea

by helenblqckthorn



Category: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Actress!Maia, Alternate Universe - La La Land, F/F, Falling In Love, Pianist!Lily
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 05:02:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14229849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helenblqckthorn/pseuds/helenblqckthorn
Summary: In the middle of the dark restaurant stood a grand piano, sleek and black and quite beautiful. It was not, however, more beautiful than the woman who was playing the exquisite song on it. Her ink-black hair fell like a curtain around her as she poured herself into the music, starting a crescendo and making Maia’s heart swell with an emotion she couldn't put a finger on.or, the lilia la la land au no one asked for





	a silver shine that stretches to the sea

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is also based off a prompt from tumblr: "Wait a minute. Are you jealous?"
> 
> a collection of moments from the au, rather than a straight up 24 chaptered fic i can't commit to
> 
> (for the first chapter: start listening to 'mia and sebastian's theme' at the *)

> we've stumbled on a view  
>  that's tailor-made for two  
>  what a shame those two are you and me

“And of course our stocks in the market have shot up!” Jordan continued, smoothing down the napkin on his lap, and gave the table a winning smile.  
  
The two other people at the table nodded and agreed, adding their two cents on what prices were at what, and what a travesty it was that so-and-so did this and that. Maia only wished for the sweet release of death.  
  
She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten this awful dinner she had with some random guy Clary had hooked her up with at one of their many parties. And after scheduling that movie with Lily as well…

  
Maia slipped into daydreams as the businessmen and women chattered in a pompous manner around her. Meeting Lily was completely out of the blue, an unexpected but completely welcome coincidence of fate.  
  
After that god awful party her roommates had dragged her out to to meet “someone on the crowd” to find the right audition and opportunity, as they put it, her car had ended up being towed and she realised would have to walk home. In heels. In the dark. The fruity cocktail taste in her mouth suddenly became bitter. 

Wishing her bright blue fluttery dress was longer and it was less windy outside, she angrily strode back home. As she had walked past a strip mall on one of the streets leading to her apartment, she’d first heard it.*  
  
A beautiful song. Simple, delicate, floating through the air towards her. Maia stopped, her heels tilting slightly on the cracked pavement, and listened.  
  
The repeated chords seemed to sing just for her, sing to her. She stood there for a moment or two, in the buzzing neon lights of stores around her. Then, in a daze, she ambled towards the melody, and it brought her to a stop outside a semi-classy restaurant.  
  
She’d pushed the door open, eager to find the source, and stopped.  
  
In the middle of the dark restaurant stood a grand piano, sleek and black and quite beautiful. It was not, however, more beautiful than the woman who was playing the exquisite song on it. Her ink-black hair fell like a curtain around her as she poured herself into the music, starting a crescendo and making Maia’s heart swell with an emotion the music was causing her to feel.  
  
And then, it was over.  
  
The woman lifted her hands gently from the piano, like the piano was a being to be handled with the utmost care and delicacy. She looked up suddenly, and Maia followed her gaze to where an angry looking man was standing.  
  
The woman walked over to him and they argued quietly for a few minutes, then she stormed off to collect her bag that was by the piano. She came towards the exit, where Maia was, and Maia saw her chance.  
  
“I just heard you play—“ she started to say, her voice thick with emotion, but the girl shouldered past her angrily.  
  
Okay then.  
  
The next time she saw Lily, it was in a far less sober situation.  
  
She was at another party with people who knew people who knew people that would apparently bring her an amazing chance of an audition. Acting was her dream, her passion, but she wasn’t getting anywhere with it.  
  
The party was at a hilltop Malibu house, and the sun beat down on them relentlessly. Maia dipped her finger in drink, bored, and looked over her sunglasses for something interesting.  
  
In search of something to do, she stood up from the pool lounger and stepped carefully around the edge of the pool itself, wandering about. The band was playing a terrible version of ‘Take on me’ and—  
  
Maia looked back at the band. The pianist, wearing a god awful outfit clearly meant to be from that era, looking like she’d rather jump off a cliff than be there, was the girl from the dusky restaurant. The one who had played the piano to Maia’s heartstrings.  
  
Maia doubled over and laughed so hard that the girl noticed, and clearly recognized her too, for she scowled, the lipstick on her lips forming an attractive shape.  
  
The band finished up, and the main singer took bows that no one had prompted. “Any requests from the crowd?”  
  
Maia raised her hand. The lead singer pointed to her. “Yes, the lady in the yellow!”  
  
“I Ran,” Maia says, and she can see the light dying behind the pianists eyes and—with great difficulty—restrains her laughter.  
  
After the dreadful song is over, the girl gives her a glare that would wilt daisies, and strides over to her.  
  
“You do not make a renowned jazz musician play I Ran on the piano,” the girl says, and Maia only takes a moment to ingest the fact that her voice is beautifully low and melodic before replying.  
  
“Renowned?” She laughs. “I could swear you were playing bad 80’s music on a tiny keyboard a few minutes ago.”  
  
The girl rolls her eyes. “Yeah well, we all do what we have to to earn a living.”  
  
Maia thinks of her coffee shop job where customers demand a refund for lattes with too little milk.  
  
“Yeah,” she agrees, and sticks her hand out to shake. “Maia Roberts.”  
  
The girl takes it. “Lily Chen.”  
  
The stroll around the house for a while, making small talk. Turns out Lily adores jazz, and her dream is to open a jazz club where people play real music. Maia sees the passion in her eyes when she speaks of it, and understands completely. The fire that lights Lily towards her dream is the same one that lights Maia to act.  
  
She makes a face. “I don’t really like jazz.”  
  
Lily looks at her for a long moment. “I think we’re going to have a problem here.”  
  
Maia scoffs incredulously. “Okay Louis Armstrong, maybe you can try and change my mind.”  
  
“Of course I can!” Lily looks delighted at the opportunity. “Jazz is such an amazing way of creating music, no one can’t like it.”  
  
She pulls out her phone, and taps in a few things. “Look,” she says, showing Maia. There a few men on the screen playing piano, saxophone and other instruments.  
  
“Each one of those guys is playing a loosely set piece, and right about now,” she jabs the screen at the piano player. “That guy is making up a piece of music on the spot, and the other guys,” Lily says, gesturing to the others. “Are now following him, just creating music and going with the flow.”  
  
Maia nods. “That’s pretty cool.”  
  
“Cool?!” Lily exclaims, pocketing her phone in her suit pocket. “It’s incredible!”  
  
She can’t help but smile at the enthusiasm Lily exudes.  
  
They talk more, about Maia’s acting, her coffee job, movies—Lily’s favourite movie is Casablanca, and she is appalled to say the least, when she finds out Maia hasn’t seen it—how Lily was fired from her job that day Maia was entranced by her piano playing.  
  
Finally they come to Maia’s car—which she managed to wrangle back after it being towed—and she looks regretfully at Lily. “As much as it pains me to say this, I probably need to go.”  
  
Lily’s expression reflects Maia’s thoughts.  
  
She’s just unlocking her car when Lily says: “Do you want to see Casablanca sometime? I personally think it’s a crime you haven’t seen it, and I’m ready to educate you on it. There’s a showing in the theatre in town tomorrow at eight.”  
  
Maia straightens up and grins. “I thought you’d never ask.”  
  
The melody of Lily’s song haunts her on the car journey back. It drifts in and out of her dreams at night, follows her to her job and auditions, in fact—Maia thought, bringing herself back to the present—it’s haunting her thoughts right now.  
  
But it’s not in her head. She turns and looks at the small speaker in the corner of the restaurant, which is playing the music, albeit a little tinnily. She smiles. 

“I have to go,” Maia says to Jordan, not looking at him, (they wasn’t serious anyway) grabbing her clutch bag and pelting out of the restaurant. She can still make it. It’s only five to eight.  
  
Maia runs in that stupid green dress Isabelle put her in all the way to the theatre, but after asking the ticket man, she found out it was already playing. Was Lily even inside? Had she waited?

She didn’t wait to find out. Maia grabbed a ticket, sprinted into the theatre, and jumped up onto the elevated board, and faced the cinema, blinded by the projector beam.  
  
Once the spots behind her eyes had disappeared, she could make out the people in the theatre and—  
  
Maia saw her, in the third row. Lily’s eyes shone as she looked at her.  
  
She hopped off the platform and joined Lily in the seat next to her. Luckily, the start credits were just rolling.  
  
“I had a dinner thing with a guy,” Maia said softly. “Sorry I’m late.”

Lily made a humming noise and didn’t quite look her in the eyes. Maia squinted at her. “Wait a minute. Are you jealous?”

The other girl coughed. “Of course not.”

“Well I’m definitely dumping him anyway,” Maia whispered, settling back in her seat. In the dim light, it was hard to see anything clearly, but she could see Lily’s lips quirking into a small smile.

Most of the movie passes in silence, and Maia has to admit, Casablanca is a beautiful movie. Coming from an aspiring actor, that’s pretty high praise.

She chances a glance at Lily halfway through. She looks totally engrossed with the film, her eyes fixed on the scene playing out. Maia notices she’s wearing another crisp pantsuit tonight, with a white shirt, no tie.

Lily turns her head and catches the look Maia is giving her. They stare at each other for a moment, then Lily leans a little towards her.

They meet in the middle as one, and Maia tilts her head so she can feel Lily’s lips more, and she’s had a complete mind blank, nothing else matters except the soft pressure on her lips.

Needless to say, it’s a lovely night.

**Author's Note:**

> [hmu @ tumblr](http://catarinalosss.tumblr.com)


End file.
